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Connecticut cop charged with abusing, raping 11-year-old girl

| Oct 12, 2020 | Child Sexual Abuse

Many instances of child abuse occur between an adult who knows the victim. In most of these cases, the abuser uses the victim’s familiarity to approach the child. A particularly outrageous example of this behavior was behind the recent arrest of a Connecticut police officer on charges of assaulting and raping an 11-year-old girl.

The crime

According to police reports, the victim was the daughter of a personal friend of the accused. The girl told state officials that the man had touched her “inappropriately several times. The seriousness of the charges were then increased when the girl added to her story.

She told police that on the day of the incident, she had been in the defendant’s house and that he dragged her into his bedroom. The inappropriate touching followed. According the girl, the man then raped her as she pleaded with him to stop.

Additional reports state that the girl used a doll to demonstrate what the man had done to her.

The defendant was arrested on September 18 and charged with three counts of first degree sexual assault and three counts of risk of injury to a minor.

Civil liability

The defendant in this case faces serious criminal charges, but is also liable for any injuries suffered by the child. The initial reports of the crimes do not specify what, if any, injuries the child may have suffered, but the assaults seem to be specific and concrete. In such cases, the child may suffer emotional trauma that may not reveal itself until long after the assaults occurred. Any parent of a child who has suffered a similar assault may wish to explore pursuing a civil action against the perpetrator by consulting an attorney who is experienced in handling such claims. A knowledgeable lawyer can provide an evaluation of the evidence, refer the victim to an experienced child psychologist, and provide an estimate of the likelihood of recovering damages from the abuser.

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